A Premier League goalkeeper’s experience facing a swerving freekick from
Gareth Bale is much the same as a Test batsman facing a fast bowler,
scientists have suggested.

Aeronautics researchers at the University of Salford have found that footballs
behave in much the same way as cricket balls when they are more than 40
overs old. The addition of rough surfaces intended to make footballs go
faster has created the same aerodynamics as with an ageing cricket ball.

If a high degree of spin is applied to a football similar to the forward
velocity then an unexpected pressure difference will be